Kenan Karaman is FC Schalke 04’s promotion hero. With his goals, the captain played a major role in the Knappen’s return to the Bundesliga. Now Karaman is talking about the end of his career – and would like to experience it in royal blue.
In an interview with WAZ, the attacker expressed his hope that Schalke would be the last stop in his career.
“My dream scenario is to end my career at Schalke. I can also well imagine staying in the Ruhr area after my career,” explained the 32-year-old.
But S04 fans don’t have to worry too much yet. There is currently no end to his career in sight. “I’m taking my cues more from Edin Dzeko – if he’s still playing at the age of 40, I want that too,” said Karaman.
“If I have to stop at some point, I could well imagine helping Schalke in another capacity. I don’t want to leave here anymore,” was the striker’s declaration of love for the club and the region.
Karaman’s World Cup dream shattered
Words that will certainly go down like oil with the Knappen fans. Because the affection is mutual. And for good reasons.
With 14 goals and four assists, Karaman played a key role in the promotion this year. He also scored 17 points last year and almost single-handedly saved FC Schalke from relegation. He then committed himself to the club and wanted to help drive the change. The fans in Gelsenkirchen have not forgotten that.
However, Kenan Karaman suffered a setback: his good performances in recent years were not enough to be nominated for Türkiye’s World Cup squad.
Karaman has a difficult time there anyway. He has not been nominated since 2023, and he played all of his 31 international matches between 2017 and 2021.